The Right Note
by Ashton09
Summary: Beca tries to pull off something romantic again, will she be able to make it work this time?


"We need to do another fundraiser."

Okay, so Beca hadn't expected that statement to go over well, but she hadn't been expecting the sheer displeasure it would bring from the rest of the Bellas. The new girls look vaguely scared as the veterans boo loudly; the new freshman Lauren actually leaning away from Amy as the Australian loudly proclaims exactly what she thinks of that idea.

At least no one can hear what Lilly is saying to the idea, Beca isn't sure they'd be able to keep the recruits from walking out if they had to deal with both Amy and Lilly at the same time. Not that she would blame them, these women have become the best friends she could ever ask for, but sometimes they can be miles past a little much.

And she honestly can't blame them for being upset at the thought of fundraising either, it's not the easiest thing on a campus of broke college students. Especially when the options that would probably earn them the most money are also the ones Beca knows would bring college officials knocking, and not in a good way.

It's a shame too; Stacie's full of ideas that would easily make them enough money for anything they could need.

"Guys, hey!" Beca finally yells when the protests have gone on for several minutes, finally getting reluctant silence from the group after managing to yell louder than they can. "Relax; we aren't going to be singing cheesy love songs again. This one is actually a favor I'm asking."

"Why do you need a favor?" Jessica asks in confusion, and the rest of the Bellas nod, looking like they're going to ask questions of their own before Beca cuts them off.

"I need something awesome for Aubrey's birthday, and I have a really great idea there's no way I can afford it" Beca admits sheepishly, seeing the veteran Bella's confusion clear up, if not the new girls'. After the whole thing with the Bellas trying to pay for their soulmate bands, Beca had reluctantly agreed that in the future if she needed money for anything soulmate related she'd come to them, but had insisted she wouldn't take money from her friends.

"Does this mean we don't have to listen to the university rules?" Stacie asks excitedly, and Beca takes a moment to think about it. Because it's so tempting to say yes, to take the easy money that would come with any of the ideas her friend would have. But she also isn't sure she'll be able to give Aubrey a gift bought with that money without blushing every time she sees the blonde use it.

"We don't _have_ to, but we're going to" Beca finally says, smiling a little when Stacie crosses her arms in disappointment. "As much as I'd love to have the money we could earn with a capella lap dances or whatever your last idea was, I don't think I can give my girlfriend a present bought with that money" she tries to explain. She can tell Stacie doesn't see why it would be a problem, but thankfully she drops it without argument.

"So if we're not singing cheesy love songs, and we aren't stripping to Cynthia Rose rapping in the background, what are we doing? Though I still think you're just afraid that my sexy ass will earn more money than you." Amy asks next as she pretends to strip in her chair, and Beca can tell Lauren is about two seconds from running out the door unless she does some damage control. Maybe she should have waited until the new girls got used to the group before she brought this up, but it's not like she has a lot of time.

"Amy, quit scaring the freshman" she starts, smiling apologetically at Lauren as Amy reluctantly stops. "Lauren, I promise you'll get used to us. You just have to learn to roll with it and embrace the crazy." Beca isn't sure how much it helps, but it's another ten seconds of her sticking around, so right now she'll take it. "As for the first question, I don't know what we'll be doing, that's why I came to you guys. I need ideas."

"Well, what does Chloe have to say about it? Does she have her own gift planned, or is she going to be helping us?" Ashley asks, and Beca internally thanks the woman for shifting the subject to safer territory.

"Chloe definitely has her own gift in the works, but you know how she is about keeping secrets. Once she decides it's a secret, she isn't telling anyone, even if they aren't the ones she wants to surprise. All I know is she has something planned, and there's no way I can compete." Beca also wasn't expecting the response to that one; she was just stating a fact. When Chloe puts her mind to something there's no standing in her way, and Beca knows she doesn't have the redhead's skill at finding the perfect gift. There's just no way to out-romance Chloe Beale.

Apparently the Bellas don't agree with that.

They're quickly turning Beca's request for a favor into a full production, from a midnight boat ride with serenade from the shore of the lake, to dinner at the most high end restaurant they can find, to a weekend at a spa Stacie swears she can get them a deal at. And while all of their ideas sound great, or at least most of their ideas, Beca already knows exactly what she wants to do.

"Dudes, will you listen for a minute?" she finally has to yell, rubbing her head when they sheepishly quiet down. "I appreciate all of the ideas, but I already know what I want to get Aubrey, I don't need to come up with ideas to compete with Chloe. I just, ya know, can't afford it on my own." She hates admitting that, but it's the truth. She's spent most of her free money on a series of technological mishaps that have come up, and knows she can't keep going to her father for 'missed allowances' forever.

She doesn't like coming to the Bellas much either, but it's at least better than asking her father again, and at least this way she's an active participant in earning the money. And half of what they earn will go into the Bella travel fund as a group donation, which was part of the deal Beca had finally agreed to. She won't let her friends give her money, but she will let them help her earn it if they get some benefit out of the deal.

"She isn't planning another road trip for you, is she?" Cynthia Rose asks with a smirk, and Beca can feel herself blushing, knowing what she's actually asking. Nothing stays secret from this group for long, especially when alcohol is added to the equation, and all it had taken was Stacie starting another game of "Never Have I Ever" for Beca to share far more than she ever would have sober. But that's another thing the new girls really don't need to hear about right now.

"Definitely not. But come on guys, this isn't about what Chloe is planning. I need help figuring out how to get the money we need." She's shifting into Captain mode now by default, though she hadn't wanted to for this. She's still not entirely comfortable with the fact she's somehow the leader of this group, and usually tries to avoid acting like it unless the situation is directly Bella related.

"How much are we looking at?" Cynthia Rose asks, and Beca can see her starting to mentally add up the amounts of money they usually get from a fundraiser. Making her the Bella treasurer, with help and oversight from Stacie, had been one of Beca's best decisions as captain. Her gambler's mind was great with money and figuring out the best way to get value for their dollar, and with Stacie involved in every step there's no 'easy access' to the funds to tempt her into 'borrowing' the money for a quick poker game. And they've found that being in charge of the Bella finances actually helps keep her gambling in check. It doesn't make a lot of sense on paper, but then again few things about the Bellas do, and Beca isn't going to argue with the results.

"A few thousand" Beca mutters almost under her breath, knowing what the reaction will be. They usually set out to raise that much, but given that Beca insists half of what they make doing something like this goes to the Bella fund, that doubles what they need to shoot for. "I mean, I've got some money still saved, but my laptop went out last month and took most of what I had" she tries to rationalize, hoping they won't think she's expecting them to be her own personal piggy bank or something.

"Well at least we have some time" Stacie eventually says with a sigh, the women apparently already invested enough in the idea that the amount isn't going to change their minds. "Though if we need amounts like that, you might reconsider the car wash idea that got shot down last year."

"Stacie, your idea of a carwash would have had campus security called on us within half an hour" Beca patiently explains again, skipping the detailed list when she sees Lauren starting to look nervous again.

"Yeah, but in that thirty minutes we could have easily made enough to cover the travel budget all year" the blonde complains, and Beca has to fight back a laugh and stay in captain mode to avoid encouraging her. Because she's probably right, though Beca doesn't know how much of their profit would end up lost to fines or other disciplinary action.

"Doesn't matter, let's keep the fundraising for my soulmate's birthday present a little more G rated, okay?" she says to cover the momentary lapse. She can see Jessica and Ashley laughing together, obviously not fooled by her act, and Lilly mouthing something with her hand in her pocket that she's just as glad she can't hear.

"I don't get why you don't at least let Chloe help you" Amy says after a few minutes of tossing ideas around. "The problem with most of these ideas is they won't bring in all the money we need, but if the ginger chips in I'm sure we can make up the difference."

"I don't want to ask Chloe for help" Beca admits reluctantly, earning confused looks from her friends. "I know I can't compete with what she'll come up with, but I can at least manage a romantic gift for one girlfriend without help from the other, you know?"

"Wait, what?" Sara, their new senior recruit, asks, and Beca realizes that they haven't actually explained the situation when she sees Lauren looking confused as well. "I thought Aubrey was your girlfriend?"

"Oh yeah, badass Beca effin Mitchell here hit the jackpot and ended up with two smoking hot women somehow. Ginger girlfriend even ambushed her in the shower to get her to join the Bellas" Amy says before any of the other Bellas, or Beca herself, can answer. And of course her answer leaves both new girls still looking confused, and Beca rolls her eyes before explaining, holding up her hand to keep Amy from adding anything more and confusing them further.

"The universe has a sense of humor, and apparently decided I need two soulmates" she says before giving a quick explanation of how Chloe and Aubrey had been colorblind before meeting her and how the colors had flickered in for her when she'd met them both. She ends up unsure of how well she's managed to explain it, but promises she can explain it more later if they want. "But the point is, we've been together about a year and a half now, and I've had this idea about what to do for her birthday since our anniversary trip."

Beca belatedly realizes that bringing up the trip again was a bad idea when the veteran Bellas start smirking and commenting, Amy making suggestive gestures that have Lauren staring at her with wide eyes. She really hopes the freshman gets used to them quickly, or there's no way she'll stick around for the entire season, let alone for next year.

"Amy, quit scaring the new girls" Beca barks, and the Australian reluctantly stops the over the top hand motions before pulling Lauren into a hug. Which really, doesn't do much to solve the problem, and Beca makes a mental note to keep the poor freshman away from Amy in as much choreography as possible for a while. She already knows Lauren will do anything she can to keep from sitting next to her again.

"So what will we be getting her?" Stacie asks excitedly when she stops teasing Beca about the importance of stretching, and Beca hesitates a moment before telling them. Not because she's ashamed, she's actually pretty damn proud of her idea. She just knows that it'll give away her more sensitive side, the one she tries to keep hidden as much as possible. And every girl in here, with the exception of Sara and Lauren, know it's there, but she still isn't exactly comfortable being this open about it.

"Well, when we were on that trip" she starts, narrowing her eyes threateningly to avoid a repeat of the earlier reaction, "one of the restaurants had this really cool piano design on the tabletops, and Aubrey started basically playing the tabletop. It made me realize she used to play the piano all the time in Bella practices, but now that she's graduated there isn't a place for her to play, and I think she misses it. So I want to get her a really nice digital piano."

Just as she'd expected everyone bursts into comments about how sweet an idea it is, and how much of a softy Beca is. Even the scowl on her face isn't deterring the comments, and Beca reluctantly decides that the battle is lost. Even Sara is joining in, and they've had maybe three conversations total since the younger woman joined the Bellas. Honestly, other than the minimal hit to her badass image that she didn't even really have with these girls, how can she be upset that they're this interested in how much she loves her girlfriends? Other than the fact it's a little weird, she really shouldn't mind at all.

By the end of the practice they have a basic game plan for earning the needed money, and actually manage to work on something Bella related as well, to Lauren's intense relief. Beca's starting to realize that the new girl is far more serious about music than any of the others, which is saying something. The rest of them will gladly joke about almost anything for hours because they know they'll get back to the music eventually, but the freshman seems to hate every second they aren't practicing.

Maybe if she starts looking like she'll leave the group, Beca will introduce her to Aubrey. She's not sure that's actually a good idea, but she can see the two hitting it off almost scarily well, bonding over Beca's failings as a captain, not that Aubrey ever uses the word failing in any form. That description is all Beca, and drives the blonde crazy any time she uses it. Aubrey teases her about her leadership style on a regular basis even as she offers unconditional support and advice, and Beca has learned how to just go with it after their last season. After all, her captaining style had earned them another National title, so obviously it isn't that bad, right?

Lauren even looks as scandalized as Aubrey would have when Flo comes in late to practice, her last class of the day conflicting with their practice schedule. The freshman doesn't know that though, and Beca's wordless nod of greeting and brief recap of where they are obviously seems like she doesn't care about punctuality. It doesn't help when Amy immediately halts the practice to fill Flo in on the fundraising plan and Beca lets her, having learned the year before that sometimes they have to chase the rabbit tracks for a while before they can get back on track. It's also why she schedules longer practices than Aubrey ever had, planning in time for random conversations that she knows can't be avoided.

Taking the opportunity the impromptu break causes as Flo and Amy discuss various kinds of fundraisers they've been in while growing up as the other Bellas look on in horror, Beca moves to Lauren's side to have a direct conversation with the girl.

"I know we're a bit much" she starts off with a small laugh, hoping to put the freshman at ease, "but we do get easier to deal with eventually. You just have to get used to us all."

"It's all just so… disorganized" Lauren responds with a frown, and again Beca is tempted to introduce her to Aubrey. "How do you get anything done? Flo didn't even show up on time."  
"Flo has a late class today" Beca explains first, watching Lauren flush in embarrassment as she realizes the other woman wasn't late for no reason. "Hey, you didn't know, don't worry. That's one of the things the veterans talked about before auditions, and it's only on Tuesdays anyway. As for how we get things done, there's a reason practices are so long. We had shorter practices for most of last year, but it was a lot harder to fit everything in."

"I'm sorry, I know it seems like I'm criticizing" Lauren rushes to apologize, and Beca smiles a little in reassurance. Maybe the freshman isn't a mini Aubrey after all. Aubrey owns her criticisms, sometimes almost harshly, and she'll apologize for being wrong when needed, but not for the criticisms themselves.

"No, seriously dude, it's not a big deal. The Bellas used to be a lot more focused, but we figured out it doesn't work as well for this group of girls towards the end of my freshman year. Too much control isn't always a good thing" she finishes diplomatically, not wanting to throw Aubrey under the bus for how she'd acted under the pressure of her senior year, or bring up the events of the fight that led to the realization.

"I just don't get that" Lauren admits after a moment. "Your style is just so new to me, and I don't understand it. And is Amy actually serious?"

"Amy is _never_ serious, and there's no way to know what she actually means half the time" Beca says with a laugh, glancing over at the other girls who seem to have taken the fact that she's talking to Lauren as a signal for a break. "And Flo, be expected to hear almost anything, just go with it. Anything you hear from Lilly do your best to ignore or forget unless it's actually helpful, unless knives and thumbscrews are your sort of thing." Beca can tell Lauren doesn't know if she's joking or not, but at least Beca has warned her. Even after two years of knowing Lilly none of the Bellas have quite managed to figure her out, and Lauren will realize that eventually.

"I guess this isn't what I expected when I joined the Bellas" Lauren finally says, and Beca can tell she's at least starting to regret joining.

"Well what did you expect?" Beca asks immediately, not eager to lose a singer this early in the season. She may not know Lauren well enough to really call her a friend just yet, but she knows she easily could, and doesn't want to lose the chance.

"Less gossip, I guess" she says with a shrug after a moment of thought, looking embarrassed to be offering criticisms again. "More singing, and focus on performances. I was in a group in high school; I think I expected college to be the same, only more intense or something."

"I'm gonna guess you feel the same way about most of your classes" Beca says with a small grin, trying not to laugh when the younger woman nods. "You'll see that intensity, both in class and in practice, when deadlines start to approach. Trust me, when these girls start to prep for competition, nothing will distract them, even when you wish something would. And your classes seem relaxed because your professors see you as adults, not children. They're going to treat you that way, not hold your hand and your attention for an hour every day. And I know that sounds harsh, but I don't mean it that way. It's a respect thing, seems to come with that whole adulthood thing I still don't quite have figured out. Just trust me, even when things don't meet your expectations that doesn't mean they aren't great in their own way."

Lauren surprisingly looks convinced, and Beca takes a moment to wonder whether this is part of that whole maturity thing that's also supposed to go with adulthood. She certainly can't remember ever being that eloquent before, most of the time she can barely manage to order coffee without saying the wrong thing at least five times.

"You do have a point though, we really should get back to work" Beca says with a smile, and Lauren tentatively smiles back. It's a victory, no matter how small, and Beca thinks she's convinced the woman to give the group a chance.

xxxxxxxxxxx

They eventually decide on a few different fundraising ideas over the course of the next few weeks, deciding that no single event is likely to raise the money they need. Beca does end up relaxing the fundraiser guidelines for anything held off campus to give them more options, though she still insists they keep it as clean as possible. But the money from their karaoke night is enough to quiet her lingering doubts, making her realize she'd seriously underestimated the spending power of drunken college students when faced with the possibility of making a fool of themselves. They're careful to restrict all alcohol to students who are of age even if they are off campus, just in case, but it doesn't seem to dent the profits noticeably.

They're also careful to avoid calling it a Bella fundraiser or a fundraiser at all. Even if half the money will be going to their travel fund, it seems dishonest to call it that when the other half will be going to a personal purchase. And it probably violates half a dozen Barden and ICCA rules to do so, not to mention the Bella bylaws that Aubrey keeps telling Beca she has to remember.

Thankfully most college students are well aware of the constant need for money on campus, and in the absence of any Bella advertising assume it's just the women needing some extra spending money. Which is true, even if it makes Beca feel vaguely guilty that they're doing all of this just for her. They don't seem to feel the same way though, when they finish with the karaoke night they're already planning how to spend the extra money in the travel fund, debating the merits of upgrading travel methods vs hotel accommodations.

It doesn't exactly make Beca feel better about the whole thing, but it at least helps.

Between that event and a few smaller ones, they easily meet the goal Beca would have sworn was too high, and then surpass it. She's fairly certain Stacie had held a few small events of her own with the help of Amy and Cynthia Rose, but the blonde had insisted Beca shouldn't have to worry about keeping track of the money, so there's no way for her to tell.

When Beca hears the final total she has to fight to keep from crying, refusing to let them see how emotional she is. They may have all figured out how much of a softy she can be, but there's no way she's going to cry in front of them and prove the point. She does manage to make sure they know how much it means to her, thanking them repeatedly and insisting she's going to do something to repay them for their help.

"As long as it isn't cooking for us" Stacie teases, having long accepted that Beca will never manage to learn no matter how long the blonde spends teaching her. It's another inside joke that has to be explained to the new Bellas, who at least seem a lot more comfortable in the group after the last few weeks. It also makes Beca realize that an uncomfortable number of her relationship stories are going to end up as Bella legends, probably told for years down the road.

She can just imagine it, years down the road a Bella captain is desperate for new recruits, and someone will pop off with a joke that ambushing people in the shower only works if they're your soulmate. She just hopes that she's managed to quash the tendency to call Bella bonding nights 'Bella bondage nights' before it takes root, though Stacie and Amy still call them that just to get a reaction from her.

When she ends up getting a deal on the model she'd picked out to get for Aubrey, Beca decides to spend the difference on something for the Bellas, and files the remaining money away until she can decide just what she'll do to show her thanks. She can only focus on one surprise at a time, and right now she's planning the best way to pull off Aubrey's.

xxxxxxxxxxx

When Chloe refuses to tell Beca even her timetable for whatever she has planned, Beca realizes it might be harder than she'd thought to pull this off. She wants to have a nice dinner ready when they get home, obviously bought from somewhere rather than homemade, and the piano set up and ready to go. And even though she won't admit it, she wants Chloe to be as surprised as Aubrey is when Beca manages to pull off a romantic gesture without minor burns, even if it won't be enough to match whatever the redhead comes up with.

As the week of Aubrey's birthday approaches, Beca finally insists that Chloe either tell her when she's planning her surprise, or give her the actual night of Aubrey's birthday for her own plans. Her girlfriend seems surprised, but quickly assures her that she can do whatever she wants on Aubrey's birthday without worrying about her plans interfering.

That's enough for Beca, and she immediately sets her plans in motion, scheduling delivery and setup of the piano as well as making sure she has that day off from the station, and getting with the professor of her single class that day to arrange an absence. He seems reluctant to allow it at first, but Beca refuses to budge, and finally her stubborn determination pays off. It probably doesn't hurt that she's actually been trying to keep focused in his class lately, making it easier to promise she'll catch up.

The end result is an entirely free day to make sure things are perfect, apartment cleaned and prepped by lunch, piano set up and put in place by early afternoon, and food ordered and picked up exactly on time, placed in the oven to keep it from cooling off in the minutes before Chloe and Aubrey arrive.

Chloe is the first to show up, and when she walks in to see the amount of work Beca has put into making everything just right, smiles as if the brunette has done it all for her. And it's not like Beca had slacked off for Chloe's birthday, but it had been so soon after the road trip that it had almost snuck up on her, not giving her the time to prepare like she'd had for Aubrey's. And she hadn't had the same perfect idea then, the knowledge of what exactly to get Chloe.

"Beca, this looks amazing" is all Chloe has time to say before they hear Aubrey outside the door, and suddenly Beca is nervous. What if she's misread the whole situation completely and Aubrey hates it? She's put so much time into this, gotten the Bellas to help, what happens if she's wrong?

The look on Aubrey's face when she walks in is enough to at least help settle Beca's nerves, but they can't see the piano from here so the nerves remain, simmering in the background. Still, the reaction to the romantic atmosphere is reassuring on its own, Beca never really sure how well she actually manages to pull off any kind of emotional gesture. But from the looks on her soulmates' faces, she's doing pretty well this time.

"Oh wow, this is gorgeous" Aubrey says when she walks in, moving immediately to Beca's side to pull the brunette in for a kiss. "Thank you, Beca" she says with honest feeling, and suddenly Beca feels a lot more confident about the whole thing. Even if it isn't perfect, she knows Aubrey will love the effort she's put into it.

"Happy Birthday Bree" Beca says with a smile, giving the blonde a quick hug before letting go so she can greet Chloe as well. Then she ushers her girlfriends to the table, promising that she didn't try to cook the food, but she does have to grab it from the kitchen and that she'll be right back. And as much as she'd love to be able to prepare an actual home cooked meal for the three of them, at least she knows a place where she can get amazing food that turns the night into something special even without the personal touch.

Dinner is mostly quiet, Beca now almost impatient for the meal to be done so she can show Aubrey the rest of her gift. And Aubrey is tired from a day of working on a complicated project, refusing to take it easy even if it is her birthday, no matter how many times her girlfriends and her boss tell her that she should feel free to slow down every once in a while, especially on a day like this.

Even without conversation constantly flowing they're comfortable in each other's presences, smiles and occasional gentle touches saying more than words could. Because how can you put this kind of love into words, without losing the spark of what makes it so special? No language on Earth has the needed words or phrases to explain how Beca feels about her soulmates, and any attempt falls flat. It's more than just being bad with words; Beca could search for years and never find a way to say what she wants to say in this moment.

She can't even be embarrassed about how cliché it all is, or spare more than a passing thought for how she'd once refused to consider the possibility of having this much happiness in her life. She has it now, and wouldn't trade it for the world.

She stops Chloe when the redhead goes to gather the dishes, not wanting to put off showing Aubrey the rest of her gift, or show the blonde without their girlfriend right there. The dishes can wait; Beca will get to them eventually.

She resists the urge to make Aubrey close her eyes or cover them with her hands, but the blonde seems to sense that there's a surprise waiting, and keeps her eyes locked on Beca's as the brunette slowly walks backward towards the alcove off the living room that until earlier today had been reserved for her mixing equipment. And Beca can see the question in her eyes, but feels that this will be another situation where words won't come close to saying enough, so she just smiles and walks the rest of the distance as Chloe follows.

Chloe sees it first and Beca hears a gasp of understanding from the redhead, but Aubrey just keeps staring at Beca, gaze not wavering even an inch. They take a moment to just stand looking at each other before Beca steps to the side so Aubrey can see into the alcove while Beca watches Aubrey.

And she can tell the exact moment that Aubrey registers what she's seeing, the blonde's eyes widening in surprise as she takes a moment to just look before turning to grab Beca for what the brunette thinks might be the tightest hug she's ever gotten from anyone.

"I take it you like it?" Beca manages to joke despite the tightness of the embrace restricting her airflow, and Aubrey laughs a little before releasing her.

"Beca, it's perfect" Aubrey says with tears in her eyes, and Beca smiles, pulling her girlfriend in for another, this time looser, hug. She smiles wider when she feels Chloe join them, the redhead wrapping her arms around them both while they stand there. And it is, it really is.


End file.
